Instead of going to the store, Tomislav from Nova Gradiška, they prefer to catch discounts on the way internet and home delivery. “Because it’s calmer. U trade there can be too much music, distraction, especially if you are buying some clothes, goods,” Tomislav tells us.
But the rush to online stores has fizzled out. The percentage of those who spent intensively online last year was four percent lower than the year before. And compared to 2021, traffic is 11 percent lower.
“We are in a time of inflationary trends, let’s say that all retailers are under some pressure. On the one hand, inflation is pressuring them in the procurement of goods, and on the other hand, there is uncertainty due to the general global situation,” points out a consultant at the Ecommerce Croatia Association Zvonimir Mozer.
This caused problems in the supply chain, deliveries were delayed and transport costs increased. Although Croats spend an average of 24 million euros on the Internet every day, some inflation forced to rationalize consumption.
“I used to prefer online shopping, but now we’re going to a flea market,” she said Mia from Dugi Selo.
We asked one girl whether she prefers online or traditional shopping in stores, to which she said: “Neither – because I have no money”.
And buying online is sometimes not the most convenient option, because citizens increasingly run out of euros in their accounts due to the increase in the number of fraudsters.
“More and more people, although we don’t have clear data on how much this can affect, but people have more and more animosity towards online shopping. They don’t trust it, they don’t know if the goods will arrive,” says an online security expert Alen Delic.
Well, citizens have a number of reasons for going to the store. “It’s better to see than to have something come to me and not like it,” she declared Lenche from North Macedonia.
“I can try everything right away, and if I order something online then I have to return it if it’s not good for me and the quality is not what I sometimes want,” added Lea from Zagreb. He also agrees with her Lucia from Dugi Selo, for whom traditional shopping is a good way to get out of the house, and an added plus is that she can try everything live.
A woman from Zagreb also prefers “classic” shopping in stores Snow White. “I stayed in the 19th century,” he jokes.
That’s why online platforms, according to experts, need to devise tactics to keep customers.
“Using some new tools, platforms that are present, create some new ones consumers in order to better present their website shops and remove some of the blockages that come with purchasing decisions,” said Mozer.
Delić points out that technology is there to help us and that we should use it safely. “From an information security perspective, there will be more fraud, people will steal money and do fake things, but we need to deal with it,” he concludes.
And carefully weigh what is more useful and profitable.
